Road America Thursday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***A total of 46 cars, the largest IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship grid at Road America in recent memory, are set for Sunday’s two-hour and 40-minute race. It marks the first of two five-class WeatherTech Sprint Cup rounds this season, with next month’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway being the other.

***Tower Motorsport will have its third different Bronze-rated driver in as many LMP2 races, with Rodrigo Sales brought in to sub for the injured John Farano. Sales will team up with Louis Deletraz in the No. 8 Oreca 07 Gibson following the lineup of Kyffin Simpson, Will Stevens and Salih Yoluc at Watkins Glen International.

***Colin Noble has been a late replacement for Linus Lundqvist in the No. 29 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan after Lundqvist was called up by Meyer Shank Racing to sub for Simon Pagenaud in this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series race on the streets of Nashville.

***It marks both Garg, the team’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge driver in LMP3, and Noble’s WeatherTech Championship debuts. “I am really looking forward to getting started with Jr III Racing this weekend in the WeatherTech Championship at Road America,” said Noble. “The team has been performing well all year and hopefully we can continue that form this weekend.”

***David Brule is back in the No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R this weekend after missing Lime Rock Park. Team co-owner Bill Riley told Sportscar365 that the Bronze-rated driver is also slated to contest next month’s round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having come off a productive test that also saw James Hinchcliffe turn laps in the car.

***Josh Burdon is subbing for Felipe Fraga in the No. 74 Riley Ligier this weekend due to Fraga’s Brazilian Stock Car Series commitments at Autodromo Velo Citta in Mogi Guaçu. Burdon has been the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup pilot.

***GTP newcomers Proton Competition were seen building up its Porsche 963 in the paddock on Friday, the same chassis the German squad contested last month’s 6 Hours of Monza with. It missed IMSA’s designated scrutineering time slot of 2:30 p.m., with work still ongoing.

***IMSA has reversed the 10 kg weight addition to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo it issued prior to Lime Rock Park, which was supposed to be in effect for this weekend per an initial Balance of Performance. The GTD Pro and GTD class entries will now weigh in at 1370 kg.

***The only other BoP change in the production-based ranks ahead of this weekend has been a 3-liter increase in fuel capacity for the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.

***The GTP class BoP has also been tweaked since Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with minor energy adjustments to all four manufacturers and weight changes to all but the Cadillac V-Series.R.

***Harry Tincknell revealed that he couldn’t watch IMSA races out of frustration of not being on the grid last year following the conclusion of Mazda’s DPi program at the end of 2021.

***When asked if the debuting No. 59 Proton Competition Porsche could play a role in Porsche Penske Motorsport’s title hopes, Tincknell said “absolutely zero”

***Tincknell said: “It’s fantastic that JDC have proven that customer teams can mix and beat the factory teams. That’s never really been in the case in top level prototypes for a long time. It’s awesome that it’s showing it’s the same equipment and if you do a good job that you can beat the so-called factory teams. But there is no real sharing between the teams. Everyone’s in it for themselves.”

***JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Porsche is fully rebuilt following an accident in the closing stages of last weekend’s two-day IMSA-sanctioned test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Team co-owner John Church told Sportscar365 that only bodywork damage was sustained in the crash.

***It marked its first test with the Porsche since taking delivery of it in late April. Church said there’s a possibility of completing a test at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in advance of Motul Petit Le Mans but is currently trying to work it into its schedule.

***The Minnesota-based team “hasn’t completely” sorted its third driver for Petit Le Mans but Church said they currently have a pretty good idea on the direction it will go.

***Church said on the team’s progress: “We’ve been consistent. Some of it has been luck but we’re learning and figuring it out. It’s what we were planning to do this year. That’s the biggest thing, getting through the process.”

***Questions surrounding Meyer Shank Racing’s future involvement with Acura in the WeatherTech Championship have continued to intensify in recent weeks, with news that lead engineer Gary Davies is seeking new employment beginning in December.

***Davies replaced Ryan McCarthy as race engineer beginning at Sebring after McCarthy was indefinitely suspended by IMSA as part of the penalties issued against the Ohio-based team from its tire manipulations in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

***MSR, which is poised to promote Tom Blomqvist into an IndyCar seat next year, is at the end of its current contract with Acura, whereas fellow works outfit Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport has already confirmed a contract extension and expansion to two Acura ARX-06s for next year.

***When reached by Sportscar365, Acura Motorsports manager Chuck Schifsky said that there is “nothing to share” regarding Acura’s 2024 IMSA plans at the moment.

***Sean Creech Motorsport has its Ligier JS P217 Gibson on hand this weekend, having been spotted in the paddock as a rolling chassis. The team recently announced a switch to the LMP2 ranks next year and is expected to be the only non-ORECA chassis on the grid.

***The Florida-based team recently visited Camp Boggy Creek, an official IMSA charity, with both its current LMP3 car and future LMP2 machine. Drivers Lance Willsey and Joao Barbosa were in attendance along with crew members as well as 77 campers, who are children with serious illnesses.

***IMSA and Konica Minolta have agreed to an extension of its official partnership, marking a renewal of the relationship that began in 2015 and confirms that the business hub of the paddock will remain known as the Konica Minolta Business Center.

***The center includes two conference rooms in the 53-foot transporter and additional meeting space that provides Konica Minolta, IMSA, manufacturers, corporate partners, a multitude of race teams and other series stakeholders a place to conduct business at race events.

***The 2024 IMSA calendars, including the WeatherTech Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing Challenge series, will be released Friday at 1:30 p.m. CDT. It comes in lieu of the sanctioning body’s annual ‘State of the Sport’ address, which has been postponed to Motul Petit Le Mans in October.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John